This invention relates to an apparatus and method for determining temperature of a specimen such as urine. The present invention advantageously uses an infrared thermometer for measuring temperature without contacting the sample being measured.
Generally, it is known to take temperature measurements of samples by inserting a thermometer into a container with the sample therein or taking the surface temperature of the container by means of a contact-type instrument such as a thermometer or a thermocouple. Such procedures are undesirable because the sample is usually contaminated with the thermometer contacting the sample and surface temperature readings are usually inaccurate and results are not reproducible.
For example, in procedures for testing urine for foreign substances such as drugs, a need arose for accurately determining the temperature of the urine sample without contacting the sample prior to such urine samples being subjected to analysis. The temperature measurement of urine is critical for determining whether the urine is at or near a person's body temperature and to determine if the urine specimen is fresh or stale so that subsequent testing of the urine is credible.
Heretofore, there has been no method and means for testing temperatures of urine samples accurately and without contacting the urine. Prior art methods of measuring the temperature of urine samples included inserting a thermometer into the urine sample contained in a sample container. This method resulted in contamination of the urine sample.
Another known method used for determining temperature of a urine sample included taking the surface temperature of the container used to house the urine sample by contacting the container surface with a contact-type instrument such as a thermometer or a thermocouple. However, this type of measurement was inaccurate and not reproducible.
It is desired to provide a quick, safe, easy, precise and accurate method of determining the temperature of a sample material in a sample container without contacting the container or the sample material in the container.